As BBC reported this morning, Icelandic entrepreneur and football fan Eggert Magnússon and a group of investors have closed a deal with British football club West Ham.
According to the BBC, the club was bought for GBP 85 million (EUR 126 million, USD 161 million). Additionally the new owners will take over a debt worth GBP 22.5 million (EUR 33.3 million, USD 42.7 million) and are obligated to invest in new players for an unspecified sum. Mbl.is reports.
West Ham has agreed that Magnússon will take over 83 percent of the football club’s shares. Magnússon is replacing Terry Brown as owner and chairman, but Brown will continue working for West Ham.
In an interview with the BBC, Magnússon says it is an honor for him to be accepted as West Ham’s chairman. He added that he realizes that he has a lot of responsibility and promises that he will do everything he can for West Ham to be successful.
Magnússon also told the BBC that he is considering moving the club’s home court from Upton Park in east London to the London Olympic Stadium.
Björgólfur Gudmundsson, director of Icelandic Landsbankinn bank, belongs to the group of investors behind the deal. BBC reports that he will be made honorary chairman of West Ham, while Brown will serve as honorary vice-chairman.
To read more about the deal, click here.
